Calming Foods – Certain pre-bedtime snacks, such as a small bowl of plain yogurt, can help calm and soothe little ones.

The culturing process makes yogurt easier to digest than milk, but be sure to stay away from fruit flavors as the added sugar may cancel out the calming effect

Aromatherapy – Adding calming scents to a warm bubble bath before bedtime can help the body and mind unwind.

Try any one of the California Baby Aromatherapy Bubble Baths for a fun bedtime routine.  Starting at $12.79 or buy 2 for $23.90!  HUGE 130z bottles.

Massage – Gently massaging children of all ages while they lie in bed can help set the stage for a full night’s sleep.

Try massaging gentle strokes with the California Baby Massage Oils Buy 2 for about $20 at Amazon.

I personally have used the Calming Massage Oil.  And currently use it.  Rubbing it along my neck, temples and shoulders.  Great to give myself a slight massage when I am feeling pressure and stress. This article may be geared towards little ones, but California Baby is one of my favorite lines and one of the first ones I ever started using!

New Terra Living Review (round 2)

A couple weeks ago I wrote about how I was now in love with my new organic cotton yoga pants from New Terra Living.

Well now I have a t-shirt to go along with them!

Can’t even tell you how many times I have felt like saying this to family.  As The Green Fly Shop (shirt creator) so kindly puts it: News Flash: There is NO Garbage Fairy, okay. So do what the shirt sez, wouldja’? Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. And if you’re community doesn’t recycle then let us know (info@greenflyshop.com) – maybe they’ll make our maggot of the month!

Ultra soft, ring spun, combed 100% Organic Cotton.

Made by member manufacturers of the Fair Labor Association: a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting international labor standards and improving working conditions worldwide

Warning: not for pansies, wimps, cry-babies, whiners, the faint of heart, people easily offended or boring folks that are just like everybody else.

In case you missed some of the products New Terra Living carries let me tell you they have a bit of everything for the green chic recycler in all of us.   Organic Cotton baby clothes,  household cleaning (ecover, seventh generation), eco-friendly jewelry and more!  It is a must see for yourself site!

Homedics Restore

If you still purchase bottled water, I sincerely hope you have a really good excuse!  There are so many ways around buying plastic land material filled with water!

We actually have a filter our our kitchen sink.  Aqusana makes it and I love it!  BUT we don’t have access to icy cold water and Craig will not drink it unless it is really cold.  So he normally gets water from our fridge but the water filter on that is a piece of junk!  I replaced it as soon as we moved in here, and with in 4-5 days it stated it needed replaced again.

So I was really happy when I was approached to do a review on the Homedics Restore!

The Restore Clean Water System utilizes UV Clean Technology purifies and removes: 99.9999 percent of bacteria, 99.99 percent of viruses and 99.95 percent of microbial cysts. The filtration system also reduces heavy metals, chlorine, industrial and agricultural pollutants. BPA free.

Features:

• System includes: 8 cup capacity pitcher with built in UV lamp, 1 replaceable filter and one adaptor
• Restore is California certified for microbiological water purification – a first for a major brand in an easy to use consumer product.
• Restore treats tap water so its both cost effective and eco friendly
  BPA free
• UV technology purifies and removes 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses and 99.95% of microbial cysts

It is really simple to use.  Just fill with water.  Give it time to drain through the filter and then switch the button to “Purify” and plug in.  You only have to wait maybe 1 minute.  And do yourself a favor, divert your eyes.  The UV light is powerful!

The water tastes extremely clean and so nice having cold water.

It is also made really well.  Everything is nice and thick, not like most filter pitchers I have used.  This will stand the test of time, and frequent washings!

It looks like they retail for about $99.99 just about anywhere and the filters are a steal at $6.99.

Purchase at Amazon.com and Drugstore.com.

ftc disclosure: I did receive a sample pitcher for review.  this did not have any bearing on my review good or bad.  In fact I was asked to review it no matter whether I liked it or not.

Athleta Clothing Review

I would like to think most of you know my style by now.  I am pretty relaxed, I like khakis and color.  I love fun shoes.  I love tee’s and sweatshirts, and sweaters.  I love longish skirts and dresses in the spring and summer.  As a friend dubbed my long ago, I am a Prissy Hippie.  But really as far as dressing goes, I am far far far from being Prissy.  Yes I do like to look nice, but most days you will find me in yoga pants and a tee, and if chilly a fleece.

So one day I was browsing the interwebz.  I love window shopping.  So I come across Athleta.  Immediately I fall in love lust.  Yoga gear, great shoes, running attire.  Clothing that can take you straight from the Yoga mat to cocktails with a friend.  Plus with Athleta being in the Gap family, I knew it would be quality.

I was the extremely lucky recipient of a couple boxes of surprises from Athleta.  Basically I gave them some sizes and they sent it out.  Knowing that I loved every item on the site, and every item I had previewed in the Holiday look-book, I was going to be thrilled!  And outfitted!

Take a look at these!

athleta Lodge Pant Several colors

These pants are made like jean, pockets in back and all.  But are made from recycled polyester and spandex. Which means they are water wicking.  My sloppy butt loves that!  no stains! I have lounged in these pants, thanks to the spandex and I have also worn them out for couple dinners.

The Lodge Pant has a boot-cut fit with a flattering flat front, an extended tab zip/snap closure, internal waist adjustment, two front mesh-lined jean style pockets, one right leg zip pocket, two back patch pockets, and Athleta chi logo rivets.

Love these Velvet beauties too! Called Covara. Might make it to my Christmas List!

Velvet is at its best when broken in, so we weathered the fabric on this semi-fitted, jean style pant to make it feel like an old favorite the first time you put it on. The straight leg cut and seams down front and backs of legs offer a flattering fit. Two jean pockets at front, two hidden zip pockets at back, and one hidden front zip pocket at right.

The most used, so far, from the items I was sent is this gorgeous Cashmere mix sweater.  The warm fall weather has helped me get more use out it! The Yama Sweater vest.

Because of the Olive Brown tone, I am able to pair this with so many color combinations.  My favorite color is green, so as you can imagine, I LOVE IT!  I am 5′8″ but a lot of my height is in my torso, so this rides me a little high, but not really that big of a deal.  I just happen to built a little “off.”

I have never owned anything Cashmere.  Now this isn’t 100% but the combo of Bamboo and Cashmere make it so silky soft!

Rayon from bamboo, Tencel Lyocell, Acrylic, Nylon, Cashmere

Imported.

Hand wash.

On cool days that need a quick warm-up, this semi-fitted hoodie vest is made from our soft Bambooloo sweater knit to be a perfect core-warmer. With a V-neck and rib knit trim, the Yama Sweater Vest has a removable tie, a three-snap front, and kimono cap sleeves. Two front snap pockets stash money and ID.

Altheta has some really nice sporty jackets and coats too.  They can be multi-purpose and be sporty, but some of these are nice enough to wear no matter what you are doing! I am drooling. Athleta does a fantastic job mixing colors, with out making women look gaudy and older then they are.

Another new favorite of mine, Eco-licious Half Zip.

Made from eco-licious- recycled Spandex and Polyester blend. And believe me when I say, it is LUXURY at its finest in athletic wear.   It keeps me warm, allows for movement, plus there is literally no bulk if I need to layer up.

If you are style impaired or just need a little help putting outfits together, Athleta has a special section called, “Get Outfitted.” Let Athleta put your ensemble together for you, right down to your handbag and shoes!

Right now All orders over $50 Ship free!

Plus they are with Piperlime, Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic so they are always having shipping sales and deals for buying from multiple stores!

California Baby Review, plus a few other products to try this cold & flu season

With cold and flu season in effect, here are some natural products to help you stay germ free this winter:

California Baby Colds & Flu Spritzer $13.49 for 6.5 oz

Spritz to clear the air of germs or spray directly onto baby or adult skin to ward off and treat a cold or flu

This germ-fighting, light spray includes a unique blend of eucalyptus, tea tree and rosewater to help clear congestion and unlock mucus. Available at California Baby,select Whole Foods Stores and California Baby on Amazon.

While home sick I was using my California Baby Calming Spritzer and California Baby Calendula Cream.

The Calming Aromatherapy Spritzer seemed to keep me relaxed that Clary Sage and Lavender helped keep more germs at bay.  Although mainly having a migraine, I was worried so much about germs, but I needed a light relaxing scent this was the only scent I could tolerate.  The Calendula Cream kept my face from getting chapped from sleeping all day and helped my hands repair themselves with all the frequent washings.

I had first used California Baby several years ago, and loved it so much I sent a box of it to my niece shortly after she was born.

Noodle & Boo Instant Hand Sanitizer $5.50

This gentle sanitizer hydrates skin with natural glycerin and is made with 60% grain-based ethanol, a renewable natural resource, to leave hands feeling clean and refreshed without the strong smell of alcohol.

Available at Noodle & Boo and Noodle & Boo on Amazon.

OR you can make my hand sanitizer, find the Prissy Green Hand Sanitizer Recipe here.

Upper Canada Soap Naturally Wholesome Hand & Body Wash in Pressed Olive Avocado $12.00

A cleanser and moisturizer in one that rids skin of impurities and replenishes lost moisture

Completely free of parabens, mineral oils and synthetic dyes for skincare that’s as safe as it is nourishing

Available at Upper Canada Soap and Upper Canada Soap on Amazon.

Moving Comfort Review

Moving Comfort specializes in women’s workout clothing. WITH STYLE!

Fit. Style.Comfort.

I realized a few months ago, that I needed a sports bra. Most of the workouts I do are Yoga, but after bouncing around on my Bellicon Rebounder, I really needed some heavy duty support. I tried a few sports bras, and they are great for walking on the treadmill, and even for jogging on the treadmill, but weren’t very helpful for jumping around on the Rebounder.

Then I found Moving Comfort. Moving Comfort sent me their Helena Sports Bra. It is geared from any activity level, but specializes in support for high impact.

And it works. No longer does my chest start hurting during my rebounding. Actually it holds me in place really well! I might even have to start wearing it when i go see music, and know I will be dancing!

This state-of-the-art bra is a true powerhouse. The strong M-frame construction and seam-free molded cups are bonded for superior strength, less bulk and more comfort. Easily adjust the straps in the front with our signature hook-and-loop system. Three plush-backed hook-and-eye rows on band.
Body: 72% nylon / 28% spandex

The bra comes in the purple featured, which is what I have. And Periwinkle Blue, White and Black.

I love the straps, they are slightly padded, and adjustable. I will say that I normally wear a 34 C, and when i received that bra, it was teeny. No way where the girls fitting in there! I contacted Moving Comfort, and they suggested I move up a cup size. I was surprised, but I agreed. It fit beautifully. The small one seemed to even be small in circumference portion, but the new one was just fine.

I am thrilled with this bra, and suggest if you are looking for some support, you visit Moving Comfort!

Show your love and commitment to the girls and women in your life by purchasing a Support Your Girls T. Through the sale of each T, Moving Comfort will donate $5 to Girls in the Game®.

The mission of Girls in the Game is to provide and promote sports and fitness opportunities, nutrition and health education and leadership development to enhance the overall health and well being of girls aged six to eighteen.

Girls in the Game encourages girls of all abilities to get in the game–any game–in an all-girl setting where girls are empowered to find their voices, explore new physical activities and support one another. After one year in the after school program, girls eat healthier, exercise more, have a healthier body image and have better social skills than their peers. These positive habits mean a healthy body and a bright future for Girls in the Game girls.

Vapour Organic Beauty Review

If there is only one product you buy for yourself this fall, it has got to be  Vapour Organic Beauty’s Stratus Skin Perfector.   Trust me on this one.  It is a magic wand.

Stratus is a breakthrough Vapour product that dramatically raises the bar for cosmetic performance and purity. This one product is the essential first step in any regimen. Stratus immediately brightens the complexion, evens skin tone and diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Look brighter and younger as light is reflected in the most flattering manner to provide an instant cosmetic youth boost. Use underneath Atmosphere foundation for a flawless finish.

Revolutionary formula designed to make immediate improvement in the appearance of your skin

• Utilizes the power of light reflection to make skin appear instantly brighter and healthier
• Fine lines and wrinkles diminish immediately
• Skin tone is evened and appears smooth, firm and refreshed

Contains a Certified Organic complex of pumpkin and papaya

• Provides deep moisturizing
• Provides powerful anti-oxidant protection

Contains Lysine

• Essential skin nourishing amino acid
• Creates elegant velvety feeling

I have been using this A LOT.  Even when I normally wouldn’t wear makeup… aka working on the blog here, in my pj’s.   But this makes my skin look so radiant, I can’t help myself!  I also use it as a highlighter, cheeks, eye bone.  A real magic wand.

I can thank Carley’s Smooth and Clear for helping me like this too.  My skin is so clear, I don’t need coverage as much as I need help evening my skin tone.  Magic Wand.  So easy to use, just swipe and smooth in.

Their whole collection is the answer for thirsty winter skin.  The Atmosphere Foundation is created with Sunflower Seed Oil and Castor oil, complete moisture.  Yet non-clogging, and acts as an eraser on lines, wrinkles, sunspots and scars. A richly pigmented, hydrating mineral make-up?  yes ma’am, our prayers were answered.

What I have noticed is that the pigment actually stays where I put, and doesn’t disappear after a couple of hours.  I have not always had that luck with “stick” make-ups.

Vapour Organic Beauty has each ingredients listed on each product page.  The whole line is 70% Organic, but 100% natural.

Unique stick application

• Apply to skin straight from stick; blends beautifully into the skin with fingertips or a sponge
• Portable and elegant

Because it is created with so many nourishing ingredients, make sure you moisturize very lightly.  Or better yet, only in the dry spots.  Like the nose.  If not it might be too much moisture.  I would not be able to wear the foundation in the summer, I am a little too oily, but I will be using the Aura Multi-Use Blush, and the Stratus Skin Perfector.

The Blush comes in 3 flattering shades.  If you need more, add more. If you used to much, just smooth it in!

From left to right, Crush, Spark and Torch

I have the color Torch.  It might look a little intimidating, but I love to just look naturally flushed, and this is the color for me!  It also makes a fantastic lip color.  I have a lot of color naturally  in my lips, so I like to wear colors that look more like a stain, subtle.  This blends with my lip color, and creates just the right amount of attraction to my lips.

Vapour Organic Beauty also carries Illusionist Concealer, Trick Stick and Mesmerize Eye Colors.  Plus Elixir Lip Gloss and Siren Lipstick.  I have been using their Enigma (plum) Lip Gloss.  Extremely hydrating, and just a smidge of color.  Roboust shine for days!

You can purchase Vapour Organics at VapourOrganicBeauty.com.

Looking for a Pet-Friendly Hotel in NYC

As most of you know, I have two furbabies, Bayles and Bleu.  They are my dog children. Both are very well behaved, and love to travel with me.  There have been so many times that I have settled for “less than nice hotels” just because it was so hard to find one willing to take dogs!  Often, the hotel websites don’t usually make the information readily available. However, Red Roof Inns are always Pet Friendly. So I stopped looking and hunting so hard because I knew I could find a Red Roof Inn nearby. The problem was that the RR Inns are usually farther away from my destination than I would like.

Craig and I always travel to Atlanta to see a band for New Year’s eve.  We meet tons of our friends there.  To keep everyone safe, we drive, we all stay at hotels in the Centennial Park area and are able to walk around and hotel hop.  This year we considered changing it up, and going to see a different band in New York City.

I thought, “oh great!  Another week wasted online hunting for a pet friendly hotel.“  and this time I thought it was going to be so much worse.  I know nothing about New York City so I braced myself for a long and painful search. I was already anxious – not about crime, but worried about getting lost! Or losing a dog! eek!

Then via Oyster Hotel Reviews, I found out that there at a total of  86 hotels in New York city that are pet friendly.  All I had to do then, was plug in what area of New York we wanted to be near, or actually stay in, and bam. I was hit with a list of the hotels.  So I found out where the Beacon Theater is, and plugged in the “upper west side.”

Madarin Oriental

Now comes the decisions.  Do I want to stay at a the Mandarin Oriental that, for one night, will cost me more than twice my mortgage?  Or do I automatically go into my frugalista mode, and pick the least expensive, On the Ave?

Of course we aren’t going to pay $1,000 for each night.  I don’t even think if I struck it rich I could do that.  So really it came down to On the Ave at 3 1/2 stars and the Empire Hotel at 4 stars, but also $75 more.  So now that I am aware of the stars, I checked out the reviews and the amenities.

On the Ave

The only cons of On the Ave were steep internet charges of $13 a day, and a clunky old elevator.  To save myself $75, I am thinking I can live with that.   The Empire Hotel has quite a few notches against it in the review department. Small standard rooms, noisy parties in the lobby, loud traffic outside and one that wouldn’t both us, pool often closed to private parties.  That settled it, I didn’t even need to look at the pros.  We wouldn’t be spending much time at the hotel anyway!

Empire

How simple did that make it?  When Craig and I sat down a few weeks back to pull the trigger make the reservation, we got a few frantic phone calls from friends.  All of them basically telling us how much they would miss us, and that we just HAD to come to Atlanta, and no way should we go to New York.  This ended up being the only hard choice.

We realized very quickly how much we would miss our trip, and our friends, and of course seeing Widespread Panic.  We were trying to do something new, and were excited about the NYC atmosphere, and seeing Govt Mule, but that trade-off wasn’t going to be worth it.  Our reunion with good friends is the biggest draw for traveling to Atlanta and, the best part is we already know where to stay.

Images and information all found on Oyster.com.

Russell Organics Review

Russell Organics was founded on four basic principles:

1. to formulate the finest luxury skin care products without the use of known toxins.
2. to formulate and craft products to Certified Cruelty Free and Certified Vegan Standards.
3. to formulate and craft products using Organic ingredients whenever a dependable organic supplier can be sourced.
4. to operate as a Carbon Free organization.

Russell Organics is committed to existing in harmony with the environment. They take every effort to reduce the carbon footprint of our everyday operations. From the reduced level, Russell Organics then partners with the Carbon Fund to purchase Carbon Off-sets for the company, which effectively makes Russell Organics a true Carbon Free organization.

But what about the beauty products?

Russell Organics is soon to be a leading luxury, organic oriented, beauty brand in the market. Carefully crafted, Russell Organics products are free of toxins and contain only the finest ingredients. Every Russell Organics product is Certified Cruelty Free and Certified Vegan.

With luxury solutions for facial care, body care, and hair care, Russell Organics has a product for everyone.

I had the chance to try out the Russell Organics Lemon Jojoba Body Polish.  A nice, and very gentle exfoliation for all areas of the body.  Crafted with fragrant Organic Citrus Essential Oil, Organic Lavender Essential Oil, and Organic Calendula Essential Oil it helped to shake my senses awake, and alive, while gently removing the dead skin cells ever so gently.  Replacing lost moisture with Aloe Vera and jojoba.

Refreshing, exfoliating, moisturizing and detoxifying, all in one great body polish. Packed with natural ingredients, specially formulated to re-energize your skin.  As most of you know, I break out.  My back and chest included.  Most body scrubs do not take this into consideration, and fill their moisturizers with pore clogging ingredients.  Russell Organic’s Body Polish allows me to re-energize my chest and back, and rid my skin of all the skin dulling dead skin cells with out causing breakouts.

At $36 for 4oz, this scrub will last a long time, if used on moist skin. I do suggest turning off the shower, as I do with all scrubs, to not only save water, but to save product too!

Buy Russell Organics online at Russell Organics.com

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